The Financial Times reported that a senior CIA official posted a pro-Palestinian photo on Facebook two weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel.
According to the newspaper , the CIA's assistant deputy director for analysis changed the cover photo on her Facebook page on October 21, and put a picture of a man raising the Palestinian flag.
In a separate post on Facebook, the official posted a photo of herself with a poster that read, “Freedom for Palestine.”
An informed source told the Financial Times that the post appeared years ago and has nothing to do with the current dispute. He said, "The officer is a professional analyst with extensive experience in all the details of Middle East affairs, and this publication was not intended to express a position toward the conflict."
The source added that the official also issued posts against anti-Semitism on Facebook.
The newspaper pointed out that the CIA official, whose name the Financial Times decided not to publish for security considerations, did not respond to a request to contact her via the social networking site LinkedIn, but the pro-Palestine photos and her related publications disappeared from her Facebook page.
Former US intelligence officials expressed their surprise at one of the two assistants who report to the Director of the Analysis Department, publishing pictures on Facebook that express a personal position on controversial issues.
In a statement, the CIA said, “CIA officers are committed to the objectivity of analysis, which forms the basis of what we do as an agency. Officers may have personal views, but that does not diminish their or the agency’s commitment to unbiased analysis.”
The Financial Times indicated that this comes in light of disagreements within the US administration regarding President Joe Biden’s position regarding the recent escalation between Israel and the Palestinians, as a number of officials in the US State Department protested against the administration’s policies, and called on Biden to make efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza Strip and increasing humanitarian aid.
Hamas movement invites Elon Musk to visit the Gaza Strip
Today, Tuesday, the representative of the Hamas movement in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, called on the American billionaire and businessman Elon Musk to visit the Gaza Strip to see “the extent of Israeli crimes against the Palestinians.”
Musk made a visit to Israel, during which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took him on a tour of the settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip, to explain to him the consequences of the Hamas attack on them on October 7.
Hamdan said in a press conference in Beirut: “We invite Mr. Elon Musk, who visited the occupation, to visit the Gaza Strip to see the extent of the massacres and crimes committed against our people, in adherence to standards of objectivity and credibility, and away from the policy of bias and double standards in dealing with the issue of our people and their legitimate rights.”
Hamas also sent an invitation to journalists and media agencies to "intensify their presence in the Gaza Strip to examine the extent of the destruction and the features of the war of extermination committed by the occupation and its Nazi army against our Palestinian people."
She said in a statement: “What is unfolding day after day are systematic massacres and killings against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the latest of which is the discovery of dozens of bodies of Palestinian civilians under the rubble in the Al-Sabra area and other areas of Gaza City, and the extent of the destruction that occurred to the Islamic University, which is one of the most important... Scientific institutions, to reaffirm the horror of the genocidal war our people were subjected to, the aim of which was to push them to forcibly migrate through killing and deliberate destruction of all life facilities and infrastructure.”
The statement added: "We call on journalists and international media agencies to intensify their presence in the Gaza Strip to see the extent of the destruction and the signs of genocide committed by the occupation and its Nazi army against children, defenseless civilians and all infrastructure."
Ecuadorian Vice President says she will go to Israel amid disagreement with president
Vice President of Ecuador Veronica Abad said that she will travel to Israel to support peace efforts in the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, in implementation of a mandate from President Daniel Noboa, whom she had previously criticized.
Abad, a 47-year-old businesswoman, made controversial comments during the presidential elections about the privatization of education and health services in contradiction to Noboa’s proposals, while confirming that her statements were misinterpreted.
This is while Noboa assigned her, by presidential decree, the sole mission of supporting peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians, a role that Abad is expected to perform from the Ecuadorian Embassy in Tel Aviv.
For her part, Abad responded to this decision in a video clip, which she posted on social media at the weekend on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, in which she denounced the abuse of power, saying: “They diminish (your role) and send you to die in war.”
Abad explained to reporters in Quito that she would comply with the order “to ensure constitutional stability” and avoid accusations of abandoning her position, adding: “This morning I requested the information necessary to successfully carry out the mission.” No date for her trip was announced.
She continued by saying: “I am not jumping ship, but they are keeping me away.”
For his part, Noboa stated that this assignment is justified within the framework of Ecuador's responsibility related to seeking a peaceful solution to conflicts and supporting international efforts to end the war that broke out seven weeks ago.
Noboa (35 years old) took office on Thursday, pledging to reform the economy and combat drug trafficking gangs, while Abad did not attend Noboa's inauguration ceremony, which included a luncheon, and posted pictures on social media while she was eating in a Quito market.
She indicated on Tuesday that she had not received an invitation to lunch or attend the celebration of winning the elections.
The truce between Hamas and the Israeli government continues for the fifth day in a row after being extended for two days under the same conditions, while awaiting the release of a new batch of hostages and prisoners.